TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Central Weather Bureau (CWB) has issued a heavy rain advisory for parts of northern Taiwan as a northeast monsoon brings cold and wet weather to the country, meanwhile Tropical Storm Man-Yi (萬宜) has been upgraded to a typhoon.

At 4 a.m. this morning, the CWB issued a heavy rain advisory for Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Keelung City. The CWB says due to the effects of a northeast monsoon, brief showers will be seen in northern and eastern Taiwan, while the northern coast of Keelung and northeast Taiwan will see longer periods of rain, including local heavy downpours.

High temperatures in will only reach 21 to 23 degrees Celsius throughout Taiwan, while lows will dip to 17 to 19 degrees in northern Taiwan, with the lowest urban temperature this morning being 16.3 degrees recorded in Chiayi. Meanwhile, the CWB predicts that central and southern Taiwan will see sunny skies, with ony a slight chance of scattered showers in mountainous areas. The lows in southern Taiwan are expected to range between 20 to 21 degrees, while the highs will rise to 26 to 27 degrees.

Due to the influence of northeasterly winds, the CWB today reports level 8 to 9 gusts in coastal and open areas of northern and eastern Taiwan (including Orchid Island and Green Island), the Hengchun Peninsula, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu. There are strong winds and waves along the coast and adjacent sea areas of Taiwan (including the outer islands). Therefore, people should take precautions when taking part in seaside activities.

Tropical Storm Man-Yi, the 28th tropical storm of the year, has transformed into a Typhoon, and as of 2 a.m. this morning was 1,980 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan moving northwest at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour (kph). Typhoon Man-Yi has a radius of 150 kilometers and is packing maximum sustained winds of 126 kph and gusts of up to 162 kph.

The CWB says Man-Yi's path is uncertain and it will continue to monitor its dynamics. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Usagi (天兔), the 29th tropical storm of the year, as of 8 p.m. last night, was moving westward toward southern Vietnam.

As for air quality today, the Environmental Protection Administration says that air quality in northern and eastern Taiwan is "good," while the air Hsingchu and Miaoli is "moderate," and an orange alert has been issued in parts of Kaohsiung for conditions that are "unhealthy for sensitive groups."